Oulimata Thiaw - Somone

In Senegal, Martín Caparrós presents the story of Oulimata Thiaw, a beneficiary of the Olympafrica FutbolNet programme. Oulimata is one of four siblings who lost their father, the reason why their mother had to start working in a vegetable market. To help with the family finances, she left school and started working too. Thanks to the FutbolNet project she is able to play football with boys under equal conditions. The Olympafrica FutbolNet programme in this Senegalese city consists of a series of football tournaments that foster values using the Barça Foundation’s FutbolNet methodology

Nupur Akte - Dacca

John Carlin tells us the story of this 12-year-old girl who was born in Dacca. Her father drives a rickshaw and her mother works in a factory. They live in the marginalised Bauniabandh neighbourhood where Nupur has never been to school but receives literacy classes run by UNICEF in the district. In Bangladesh, the programme focuses on the use of sport to increase schooling among boys and girls and improve the education level of 5th grade primary pupils.

Pablo Ruiz - Barcelona

Juan Cruz tells us the story of 15-year-old Pablo Ruiz, who suffers from Batten disease, a degenerative condition of genetic origin that affects the nervous system. He is on the FutbolNet Diversitat programme in the city of Barcelona, where he can do sports activities that are adapted to his abilities. In Catalonia, the FutbolNet programme has proved effective for the social inclusion of disabled people, offering them the opportunity to be part of a space for sport and inclusion where different capacities are no obstacle. In Barcelona, the FutbolNet methodology has been implemented at 7 education centres with more than 240 participants.

Rodrigo de Sousa Jr - Rio de Janeiro

Santiago Roncagliolo tells the story of Rodrigo de Sousa Jr, a 10-year-old boy who lives in one of the most violent favelas in the city, Complexo da Maré. The son of a former drug trafficker, he takes part in the FutbolNet session at the Olympic Village in his neighbourhood. In this case, FutbolNet is a means to preventing children from descending into lives of crime. The Barça Foundation has been working in Maré for four years, where more than 400 boys and girls are now able to enjoy an effective project for improving mutual respect between the participants, and boosting school performance and empowerment, especially in the case of young girls.

Givara Khalil - Lesbos

Laura Restrepo tells the story of Givara Khalil, a Syrian refugee who lives at the Kara Tepe refugee camp in Lesbos. FutbolNet has helped her to socialise with the host community and with the other refugees on the same camp as her.